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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · fine · bulb · game · court · file · plane · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. game — a match
  4. bat — the animal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. court — of a king
  7. fine — high quality
  8. file — a document
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. fine — all right
  12. file — a tool
  13. court — of law
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. court — for sport
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. game — wild animals
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com